I have been a patient of Dermatology Center of Loudoun for many years, primarily seeing Dr. Jane…read moreNguyen and Sophia, PA. After my experience today, I will not be returning.
When I arrived for my scheduled appointment, I was unexpectedly told I had an outstanding balance. I asked for documentation and was handed a statement that clearly showed a $0.00 balance due. When I questioned this, I was eventually told that my account had been sent to collections and the balance had therefore been "adjusted out" of their system.
This was the first I had ever heard of a balance or collections. I had received no phone call, bill, letter, email, text, or other notification. I had even recently called the office to reschedule this appointment and received multiple appointment reminders, yet no one mentioned an outstanding balance.
A nurse actually called me back for my appointment, but the billing manager stopped me and said I could not be seen until I took care of the collection balance. When I asked her to show me documentation of what I owed, she couldn't because she needed to restart her system. I asked to proceed with my appointment while she did that, since I was already more than 40 minutes past my appointment time. I was told no--I could not be seen until I paid.
So despite their own paperwork showing $0 due, and without being able to provide documentation supporting what they claimed I owed, I ultimately gave them my credit card so I could receive the medical care I had come for.
Then I discovered another problem: I had specifically scheduled with Sophia after being told Dr. Nguyen was unavailable for several months. Once I was finally taken back, I was told I would be seeing Meredith instead because Sophia had a conflict. No one had contacted me about the provider change. Had they done so, I would have rescheduled.
Before leaving, I asked to speak with the office manager. Instead, Dr. Tran, who introduced himself as one of the owners, came in. I tried to explain that my concern wasn't simply the long wait--it was being told I was in collections with no prior notice, being shown paperwork saying I owed $0, being prevented from proceeding with my appointment until I paid a disputed balance, and having much of this discussed at the front desk in front of other patients.
He called it a "miscommunication" and repeatedly interrupted me. I finally asked, "May I speak? Can you let me finish?" When I pointed out that he hadn't even heard my side, he told me there were "no sides."
That ended the conversation for me.
Billing mistakes and scheduling problems happen. What matters is how a practice handles them. After years as a patient, I expected to at least be allowed to explain what happened and have my concerns taken seriously.
Instead, I left feeling embarrassed, dismissed, and incredibly disappointed.
